← 11 Dec Wednesday 12 December 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 13 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
35,599 stories about harm· Trends· Every past day

We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.

How to read these numbers →

The news turned to violence in Paris, the avalanche in Guatemala and protests in Baghdad (Iraq). Guatemala's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran about as usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 30 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostBolivia 77 in 100 of its 78 stories, usually 16
RegionCentral Asia 22 in 100 of its stories, usually 16
Tone of the words About as usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

France

2,287 of its 4,014 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Paris accounted for 1,286 of France's 2,287 stories about harm, carried by 1,158 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Guatemala

79 of its 100 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (73 stories). Avalanche was named in 25 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Iraq

204 of its 309 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. 80 of Baghdad's 105 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (47 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Chad

23 of its 61 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Myanmar

110 of its 170 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Yangon accounted for 83 of Myanmar's 110 stories about harm, carried by 70 outlets. 65 of Yangon's 83 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (56 stories).

Protests & strikes

Japan

395 of its 1,529 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. 135 of Tokyo's 235 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (46 stories). Power cuts were named in 16 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Conflict & violence

Palestine

993 of its 1,333 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Ramallah accounted for 894 of Palestine's 993 stories about harm, carried by 47 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (349 stories).

Conflict & violence

Brazil

233 of its 571 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (148 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Latvia

16 of its 52 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 10 of Riga's 13 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories).

Protests & strikes

DR Congo

23 of its 30 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. 6 of Kalemie's 6 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (9 stories).

Also named far more than usual: drought in Somalia (19 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); drought in Poland (21 of its stories, about three times its usual); cyclone in Australia (126 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); ebola in Uganda (13 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in Egypt (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 19 the day before
23 in 10017 in 10013 Nov20 Nov27 Nov4 Dec12 Dec13 Nov: 19 in 10014 Nov: 19 in 10015 Nov: 20 in 10016 Nov: 20 in 10017 Nov: 22 in 10018 Nov: 23 in 10019 Nov: 20 in 10020 Nov: 20 in 10021 Nov: 20 in 10022 Nov: 20 in 10023 Nov: 20 in 10024 Nov: 21 in 10025 Nov: 22 in 10026 Nov: 21 in 10027 Nov: 19 in 10028 Nov: 19 in 10029 Nov: 19 in 10030 Nov: 19 in 1001 Dec: 23 in 1002 Dec: 19 in 1003 Dec: 17 in 1004 Dec: 18 in 1005 Dec: 18 in 1006 Dec: 19 in 1007 Dec: 18 in 1008 Dec: 19 in 1009 Dec: 19 in 10010 Dec: 18 in 10011 Dec: 19 in 10012 Dec: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 Dec. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 35,599 stories about harm among 193,981 counted on 12 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

Mentions of the drought ran about 10 times their usual in Somalia's news. of the day's 193,981 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. France stood out: 57% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 28%. On 12 December 2017, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, against 18 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Abbotsford, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 17 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Melbourne, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 60 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Rothesay, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 12 stories, carried by 23 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Escuintla, Guatemala -- accidents & disasters: 26 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tijuana, Mexico -- people displaced: 44 stories, carried by 40 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Hajin, Syria -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- protests & strikes: 25 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ramallah, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 894 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 78 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 76 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 60 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- protests & strikes: 105 stories, carried by 107 outlets; harsh wording in 61 in 100Yangon, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 83 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 142 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 371 stories, carried by 139 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Rhin, France -- attacks & violence: 117 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hodeida, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 132 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Campinas, Brazil -- attacks & violence: 92 stories, carried by 113 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- protests & strikes: 235 stories, carried by 254 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Sao Paulo, Brazil -- attacks & violence: 69 stories, carried by 173 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 179 stories, carried by 159 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100California, US -- accidents & disasters: 487 stories, carried by 496 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Decatur, US -- accidents & disasters: 288 stories, carried by 462 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 1,286 stories, carried by 1,158 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100
Attacks & violenceAccidents & disastersPeople displacedDeaths, cause not givenProtests & strikesDisease & outbreaks

The day's biggest events: attacks, accidents and disasters, people displaced, protests, outbreaks. Bigger dot: more stories. Ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported it and how clearly it was about one thing, the same way for every place and year; the news data does not say who attacked whom, so both sides of a war appear where the news put them. Click a dot for its stories.

The day in three measures

How it felt 30 days →

harshwarm

The words in the day's stories were about as usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout as usual
● Feara little more than usual

From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?

The weekly briefing · 19 Oct – 25 Oct

The week in human impact

Read the week →

Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.

Create a free account

Sign in · a username, an email and a password.

How to read these numbers →

These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.